Our Fitness Blog

Spring Into Action: Change The Behavior, Maximize The Result!

Spring is upon us, so let's do some "spring cleaning" of our health, fitness and nutrition. In order to maximize our results, we are going to change one behavior at a time, one day at a time, one week at a time. If you are ready to make some behavioral changes and maximize your results, let's get started.

The 1st step requires you to be 100% honest with yourself. Some of these behavioral changes may feel like a punch to the gut. Without making these changes, we are not going to get the results we desire. Whether your goal is to lose 100+ pounds of body fat, become an elite athlete or somewhere in between, changing the behavior will maximize results. The next step is to write down areas that you know holding you back from success. And again, this requires 100% honesty. Many of the things you are going to write down things that you enjoy and this can be challenging. But, I have no doubt you will be ready and willing to do so. We must bring a "whatever it takes" mentality to the table in order to achieve success. Here are some examples of things you want to write down that you know are holding you back from achieving goals you desire:

I snack a lot after dinner and just before bedtime

I eat ice cream most nights before I go to bed

I drink wine/beer/mixed drinks many nights during the week

I consume even more alcohol on the weekends

Every Friday night is "pizza & beer night"

I skip meals during the day

I skip at least a couple workouts each week

I make excuses for why I miss my workouts

I make excuses for why I cannot eat right

I skip breakfast

I do not fuel my body before my workouts

I get far less than 7-8 hours of sleep per night

I use a lot of cream in my coffee everyday

I eat a lot of not-so-right meals/snacks on the weekends

Your job is to create your own list. And if you get stumped, I would highly suggest asking someone in your inner circle that you know will be honest with you. They may know your behaviors better than you because they see them on a daily basis. They will be honest with you as to what's holding you back from success.

Once you have created your list, you now want to put them in the correct order. What is the correct order? Well, this is where we are just going to rip off the Band-Aid. Place the "most threatening/destructive" behaviors at the top of your list. Which ones are the most threatening? Well, to keep it simple, these are going to be the ones you enjoy and/or do the most. Again, grit your teeth and just rip off the Band-Aid.

Now that you have your list complete and in descending order with the most threatening and most destructive behaviors at the top, you are ready to start changing these behaviors and creating positive feedback loops. Remember, this is where 100% honesty comes into play. You may really look forward to pizza and beer night every Friday, but the reality is that this behavior is threatening and destructive when it comes to you achieving your goals. So, the more you enjoy it and the more often you do it, the further up the list goes.

Next, be sure to share this list with someone in your inner circle that will hold you accountable. This is a key step because when you can increase the accountability, you can greatly increase your chances for success.

The next step is all about execution and it's going to be one successful step at a time. Start with the very 1st item on your list and the goal is the following… You have to go an entire week and successfully change this behavior. Once you go a week and change the first destructive behavior, fantastic; you have just created a positive feedback loop. You have started the process of changing the behavior in order to maximize the results.

Once you complete a successful week of one behavioral change, it's now time to move on to the 2nd item on the list. But here's the catch, week 2 now requires you to successfully change behavior number 1 and behavior number 2 on the list. If you go a week and "slip up" and do not change the behavior, simply repeat that week, but do not add the next behavioral change until you are successful with the previous behavior change.

Let's say you are now successful 3 weeks in a row and in week 3, you successfully changed behaviors number 1, 2 and 3, congratulations. It's now time to move on to week 4 and in order for week 4 to be successful, behavioral changes number 1, 2, 3 and 4 must all be completed successfully. And so on and so forth as you move through your list. Depending on how many behavioral changes are on your list, this could take a while to complete them all, and that's fine. What's the rush, right? There is no finish line in the world of health and fitness. Once you successfully complete your entire list, congratulations, this is a huge step in the right direction. But, in no way is this the finish line; that is, of course, if you are looking for meaningful and sustainable results for a lifetime. This is just another great starting line to continue your lifelong journey of health and fitness.

All too often, when it comes to individuals trying to achieve their goals, they will talk in general terms. For example, one might say, "I need to start eating better." Well, that's a good thought, but it's not nearly specific enough. That's why the steps above are going to attack the issues at their core. We are going after the specific behaviors that need to be changed in order for us to achieve the goals we have set for ourselves. If you are ready to spring into action, change those destructive behaviors, and create one positive feedback loop after the next… look out, because you have just set yourself up for the next level of success!